The SGSNC Alumnae Association
began in May of 1918, although some publications put it in 1917.It has continued on to the present day, as
the VSU Alumni Association.The VSU
Alumni Association collection contains materials from 1918 to the present.The purpose of the association is to keep
the school's Alumni involved personally and financially with the college.Thus, the bulk of the collection is
correspondence and published newsletters.The early Alumni performed other functions, such as recruiting for the
school and funding scholarships.

The correspondence, the bulk of
which is from 1924-1932, with years up to 1960 well represented, documents a
personal attachment between the alumni and the school and between the alumni
and their friends who serve as officers.Many of the presidents of the Alumni Association, such as Edith
Patterson, and Mildred Price, were also employees of the college, so they
regularly passed on appeals and messages from the President in their
letters.Later, an Alumni Council,
composed ofVSC Faculty served as this
link in the 1960's and 1970's.Fluker
Stewart was the first Alumni Director and served out of the office of College
Relations. The Office of Alumni Relations was formed to assist the Alumni
Association in the early 1980's, and many of the current publications of the
Alumni Association are now assisted or handled by this Office.

The Publications include early
Alumni newsletters, which changed format quite often, and so are listed Alumni
Publication, by year.The most frequent
title was Alumni News. Later
publications are listed by title:Valdosta State College Alumni News
1961-1962; Valdosta State College
Newsletter: 1965-1966; Alumni
Newsletter Valdosta State College 1966-1974; Alumni Association Newsletter and Alumni Football Newsletter--1981; Valdosta State College Bulletin, 1975-present.

The Association raised and
dispersed money for scholarships and alumni entertainment and the records of
these transactions, especially in the 1950's and 1960's are included in the
Collection.Membership and record
keeping were other important functions of the Association, and many folders
exist of Membership Lists.In fact, in
the 1930's a WPA project traced all graduates of the college to generate a
complete alumni list.The WPA project
papers are included.

Alumni Memoirs donated to the
Archives over the years make up one box, and include slides, publications and
photographs; a whole box of photographs capture the children of alumni.The many personal letters in the
Correspondence also tell biographical information about the alumni.Two boxes of the collection contain letters
to Edith Patterson, from 1922 to 1932, and give rich details of the lives of
early alumni.

Official letterhead, invitations
and programs, along with the woodcuts and photographic plates used in early
printing of alumni publications are included in the Collection.

Boxes 1-5 contain Correspondence and Minutes dating back to
1918.Both "official"
correspondence from the Association officers, and chatty "catch-up with
friends" letters from Alumni are included.Edith Patterson, the first long term President of the Alumni
Association, served from 1924 to 1932.Her correspondence from 1922 to 1932 (she died in 1933), found in Boxes
3 and 4, include especially vivid letters from the early Alumnae.Included here are speeches, and a History
paper by Joseph Kelly on Edith Patterson and the early Alumni Association.See also the Archives Web Page for"Past Pictures: The Edith Patterson
Years, 1924-1932."The minutes are
found in Box 2 and Box 5.

Boxes 6-10 contain organizational information, outlining the
history, concerns, membership and financial records of the Association.Here are found items from plays, membership
lists, ledgers, the constitution, special topics and articles.Of particular note are the poems, speeches
and essays by Alumni found in this section.

Boxes 17 and 18 contain photographic plates and woodcuts
used in early Alumni Association publications as well as Alumni Memoirs.The memoirs include publications, pictures,
letters, slides, and a box of pictures of Alumni's children.